One of the challenges that I’ve seen clients have is called frozen shoulder which is where the shoulder becomes incredibly stiff and it becomes challenging to raise your arm in the air. A frozen shoulder will make doing everyday tasks difficult so I wanted to share my knowledge of exercise to help you to minimise the risk of developing it and also overcoming it if it occurs.
First of all, what is it, and how does it develop? There are a variety of different causes such as an injury that you developed playing sports or through a prolonged period of immobilisation such as wearing a sling. There are also certain diseases and conditions that will make you more susceptible to getting a frozen shoulder. Periods of repetitive strain caused by movements that you do regularly in places such as work can also lead to frozen shoulder developing. Regardless of the causes you need to be able to have the tools to manage and overcome this mobility inhibitor!
I have included in this post 3 exercises that you can use to help improve the mobility of your shoulder and start to recover.
You will need to stay consistent in doing the exercises to ensure that the progress keeps building and perform the exercises regularly. These three exercises that I have given you below can be grouped together and completed without any equipment so are easy to complete and overtime you will find your mobility increasing.
1. Forward Circles
This exercise is where you have you arms raised out to the side of your body and you make circles with your arms rotating forward. Try this exercise for 20 seconds before switching to the next. Make the circles as big as you can with the restriction that your shoulders give you. As you progress you should start to find it easier to make bigger circles with your arms.
2) Backward circles
This exercise is exactly the same as the last, only this time you are moving in the opposite direction.
3) Side raises
Side raises involve having your arms by your side and raising your arms up either side of you to shoulder level and then bringing them back to your sides.
For all 3 of these exercises I would recommend that you perform 20 seconds of each exercise and then move to the next. After completing all three, take a short break of 30-60 seconds and repeat for 3/5 times. If your shoulders are especially stiff try and implement this practice into your day twice (I would recommend first thing in the morning and again in the evening before bed as part of your routine)
Check out the exercises on YouTube here via the link below & follow the account for more useful exercises in the future.
If you train with me online or in-person then I will be able to show you more exercises that can develop your shoulder mobility and increase your range of motion. We can also test this and measure your progress along the way which will help keep you motivated to make strengthening your shoulders a part of your routine.
If you would like to work with me online or in person to improve your shoulder mobility or get ahead of any stiffness that you are starting to experience then get in touch via my email alex@aok-pt.co.uk or messaging me via WhatsApp on 07544 659526 and we can get a call booked in!
Training advice for the Fit Pros 
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